The present invention relates generally to coordinating the nutritional needs of a patient based on an affliction of the patient and, more particularly, to a method and system for developing and delivering a customized therapeutic meal plan program for a patient that is designed to ease the side effects of chemotherapy, introduce cancer inhibiting foods, and improve general nutrition for cancer patients.
Chemotherapy agents are commonly used as part of a treatment regiment for several types of cancers as well as non-cancer conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and organ transplant. Generally, chemotherapy involves the delivery of toxic agents into the body intravenously, orally, or in another fashion that are designed to damage and ultimately destroy targeted cells within the patient. For example, chemotherapy is commonly used in a cancer treatment regiment to destroy or slow the growth of a malignant tumor located in the patient's body. Chemotherapy agents are also used after an organ transplantation to suppress the immune system to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. Depending on the type and the dosage of the chemotherapy toxins, commonly patients suffer nausea and vomiting, which for some patients can be severe and ultimately debilitating.
As a result of this widespread reaction to chemotherapy, some oncologists are increasingly encouraging their patients to limit intake of certain types of food and emphasizing the benefits of other types of foods. This generally consists of the oncologist recommending classes of foods that have generally been found to be effective in reducing the effects of chemotherapy. From this generalized information, which generally does not take into account other food-related issues of the patient, such as allergies and intolerances, or other medical conditions, such as diabetes, the patient must then develop a customized meal plan that the patient believes is consistent with the generalized recommendations provided by the oncologist.
Some oncologists refer patients to, or the patients discover on their own, various other resources that provide information relating to recommended diets for patients undergoing a chemotherapy regiment. These references are generally are limited to print materials, DVDs, web pages, and the like, and while these resources contain information that may be generally helpful to a chemotherapy patient, the patient, in order to develop a customized meal plan, must coordinate the information from the various sources with the specifics of his or her cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, and other medical/dietary conditions, if any.
Thus, in general, there is a dearth of practical information for dietary planning available to chemotherapy patients, and furthermore, there is certainly no “one-stop shop” for meal planning and fulfillment. Instead, the patient is required to do a significant quantity of research related to his or her specific diagnosis, physical condition, side effects, etc. in order to develop an appropriate meal plan and then purchase the appropriate foods and prepare the meals accordingly. As a result, many patients, even those who understand the benefits of nutritional well-being during a physically taxing therapy, are unlikely to maximize those benefits.
It is also worth noting that patients who participate in their own treatment plan may have a better attitude about the outcome, and such positive psychological effects are known to have positive physiological manifestations. Patients who have been diagnosed with cancer often feel particularly unable to control the treatment process, since treatment is typically mandated by specific standards of medical care based on the type and degree of the disease. This loss of control can produce a negative psychological effect. However, patients who address their body's unique, dynamic, and often demanding nutritional needs during chemotherapy may be able to regain a sense of control, diminishing the negative effects of an inability to participate in their treatment. The positive effect of daily, active, and thoughtful participation in the treatment process through commitment to a program of nutrition therapy is not insubstantial.
A number of web-based diet related systems have been developed that allow a user to customize a meal plan to meet specific health related goals, such as weight loss. Some of these systems take into account food allergies and intolerances, as well as diet-restrictive medical conditions, such as diabetes. These systems in general are designed to guide user selection of various proprietary foodstuffs that have been developed to meet the user's nutritional needs as well as their dietary needs, e.g., weight loss. One exemplary system is the “NutriSystem Advanced Men's Diabetic Program” commercially available through NutriSystem, Inc.
The customization of these types of programs is generally limited to user gender, weight, and food allergies/intolerances. The programs developed by these systems do not consider medications taken by the user and moreover, do not identify those foodstuffs that may be beneficial in combating or mitigating the side effects of those medications, such as chemotherapy agents, in developing a customized meal plan.